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NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 4/23/19

With the series on the line, can we expect Russell Westbrook to see minutes into the 40's again tonight?

If you're new to daily fantasy basketball -- maybe you started your DFS journey during the MLB or NFL seasons, or maybe basketball is your sport and this will be your first year giving it a shot -- you're in for a treat. The NBA scene changes hugely on a week-to-week, day-to-day, and -- depending on injury news -- even a minute-to-minute basis, making every slate a unique one that requires an ever-changing approach.

With so much changing so quickly, we're here with plenty of tools to help you out. We have daily projections, a matchup heat map, a lineup optimizer, and a ton of other great resources to help give you an edge.

We'll also be coming at you with this primer every day, breaking down a few of the day's top plays at each price point.

Let's take a look at who you should target on today's main slate.

Best of the Best

Russell Westbrook ($11,500): With four games on the slate tonight, we get some relief from the two-game blowout-heavy slates we've been seeing a lot of in Round 1. The matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder is projected to be the closest of the night, with the Blazers favored by 3.5 points. The Thunder have played Westbrook for no fewer than 37 minutes in a game in this series, and he topped 40 minutes in a Game 4 loss. Down 3-1 with the series on the line in a potentially close game today, Westbrook should play every minute he can, and we probably won't see him play fewer than 40 unless this becomes a complete runaway. With Russ -- who ranked fifth in the NBA with 1.53 FanDuel points per minute in the regular season -- almost a lock to see 40-plus minutes, this really isn't a spot you want to fade him. He's expensive, yes, but both his floor and ceiling are well worth the price.

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